Developers welcome GST Implementation

Real estatedevelopers have welcomed the implementation of Goods and Service Tax. According to them, the GST will greatly improve a fractured tax system and help create an integrated Indian market. The government has always made it clear that leasing of land, renting of buildings, as well as EMIs paid for the purchase of under-construction houses, will start attracting the Goods and Services Tax. Sale of land and buildings will be however out of the purview of GST. Such transactions will, however, continue to attract the stamp duty.

“The removal of layers of taxation with the implementation of GST would prove to be a boon to the real estate sector. Once the policy is implemented, not only would the sector be streamlined, it would also save potential buyers from multiple taxations. The same would be equally beneficial for the real estate companies, as there would be the significant reduction in tax management expenses due to single unified tax regime resulting in saving compliance costs. “- Mr. Prashant Tripathi – Group Spokesperson, Viridian Group.

“GST will be beneficial to the real estate sector by removing the double and triple taxation. In the long run, it will bring homogeneity and standardization into the real estate sector. It will rescue end consumers from the hassle of paying various state taxes at different levels. Apart from the significant reduction in tax management expenses due to a single unified tax, the compliance costs will also go down. However, on the other hand, the service charge levied on the purchase of the property is likely to push costs up a bit. Whether the home purchase becomes costlier or cheaper will finally depend on the rates in the fine print of the bill.” –Ravish Kapoor, Director, Elan Group

M3M Group echoed a similar sentiment. “The real estate sector account for about five percent of the country’s GDP and is considered as the second-largest employer. However, the sector faces challenges in terms of fiscal policy decisions. One such bottleneck is multiple indirect tax levies, such as VAT, service tax, excise duty, registration fees, etc. Since the GST is to include multiple indirect taxes, it is bound to simplify tax compliance and minimize double taxation. Home-buyers stand to benefit. Moreover, GST is expected to add about 2 percent to India’s GDP. With the economy growing, the demand for real estate sector will also get a boost. However, there are some teething issues, which have been highlighted by various real estate bodies and we expect GST council to take note and resolve the same as we continue to contribute to the GDP growth in a positive way,” said Mr. Atul Banshal, Finance, and Accounts, M3M Group.

Mr. Mohit Goel, CEO, Omaxe Ltd, Says: With Lok Sabha passing 4 bills related to GST yesterday, the decks have been cleared for its implementation from July this year. It is the single most important indirect tax reform undertaken by the country to date. With the implementation of GST, the tax structure of the country will be more streamlined and unified, giving a boost to the economy of the nation. Though most components of real-estate will continue to remain out of its ambit, for the time being, we are hopeful that its positive impact on the overall economy will also help the real estate sector.

The new legislation is expected to come into effect from July.

Under the current tax system, different states impose separate levies as goods move across the country. Truckers spend hours idling at internal borders, filling out forms and awaiting inspection. Small and medium-sized companies prefer not to grow rather than have to deal with the administrative burden of becoming national enterprises. Thus GST would be an improvement over an existing condition.

Realty Fact established in 2011 with prime focus to provide accurate, innovative and timely information about the real estate industry.

Realty Fact is a leading source for in-depth and reliable news on Real Estate.Read the breaking Real Estate coverage and top headlines from around the world on Realty Fact.com.

Realty Fact is a globally read ‘digital real estate portal and magazine’ that publishes, distributes and syndicates real estate and property market news, rates, reports, investment trends and industry data on India as well as world.

Our readers include decision makers from real estate and its allied industries such as estate agencies, agents, leading property development and construction companies, surveying, architecture to a broad range of ordinary readers who just have a general interest in real estate, investment and home improvement.

The Realty Fact is currently top ranked ‘Real Estate Magazine, Real Estate Magazine India’ in the world today by Google and many others.